Europlastics at large

Today’s big political story, the Adam Afriyie inspired vote to bring forward an EU Referendum in this parliament, will be the big story for the wrong reasons. As the Daily Mail reports:

David Cameron is facing a Tory rebellion of up to 20 MPs today as he tries to head off calls to hold a referendum on Europe next year.

Maverick Tory Adam Afriyie last night indicated he would defy the Prime Minister and force a Commons vote as he tries to make the PM hold a referendum before the 2015 general election.

The media will paint this as Eurosceptics trying to push David Cameron into an early referendum so people can have their say on who runs Britain. The reality is rather less noble. They are not doing this for us. This posturing is the political equivalent of the Italian Job with Afriyie in the Michael Caine role, leading a small gang on an enterprise in their own interest. This is the self preservation society in action, putting their electoral prospects before all else. As the story reminds us:

In a letter to MPs, Mr Afriyie said: ‘This is Conservative MPs’ last chance to try to secure a referendum. If we don’t take this opportunity we risk sleepwalking to election defeat by driving voters to Ukip.’

We may as well look away. This is a local issue for local political climbers, there’s nothing for us here. Whereas in the film we are left guessing as to whether Caine’s gang managed to save the gold they had plundered, the outcome of this little enterprise is nailed on. It is going nowhere. But that won’t stop the media hamming it up in an effort to embarrass Cameron. With most governance being managed from abroad, this is what passes for major political news in Britain these days.

Still, it will serve to deflect attention from something else. So keep your eyes peeled for something unappetising being sneaked out while the glorious media corps piles into Westminster in an effort to make a big drama with some colouring pencils, old pieces of newspaper and paste.

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3 Responses to “Europlastics at large”

A major difference between “left” & “right” is who they claim the politicians & bureaucrats are corrupt in favour of. “Left” says big business, “right” says the politicians and bureaucracy themselves

Human nature being what it is the “right” are clearly largely if not wholly correct.

This matters – during the 1920s the German establishment was able to convince people that the reason they lost WW1 was not establishment incompetence but because of the “stab in the back” by Jews and socialists.

The idea of an in-out referendum isn’t popular with europhiles (most of Westminster) and it’s hard to see how Cameron could swing one before the next GE, even if he wanted to, which he almost certainly doesn’t. It’s hard to accept that Alfriyie doesn’t realise this.

The referendum talk is a bait to vote Conservative anyway, only remotely possible if the Conservatives have a clear majority. There are all sorts of reasons for believing it’s just a useful gesture for Cameron.

It’s quite possible that Alfriyie is posturing for his own purposes as a future big beast post Cameron.

It’s also plausible the he really doesn’t know or understand much about the EU (in common with most MPs) and is a loose cannon.

The word was that the europlastic movement was done entirely with the approval of the Whips’ Office. Alfryie could even have been encouraged to do this as part of a scheme to show that the Conservatives are potentially up for EU withdrawal.

However, because something curious happens does not mean there is deep planning behind it and if there is, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s well considered.